Mind reader
by MissLyricalLeftie
Summary: A oneshot following a young witch who recently graduated from Ilvermorny staying in New York, who continues to run into a fascinating magician. Queenie Goldstein x Reader


Queenie imagine

When you first see her, you're passing by a group of no-maj ladies with signs and sashes reading "votes for women". You wonder how your own magical community has a female leader, yet these women can't even get their voices heard. They must feel well and truly stuck.

'I know. Aren't men awful sometimes?' a voice says, and you startle. You turn around to see a woman with elegantly curled blonde hair and a wicked grin across her face. 'It seems like they're _years_ behind us. It's not the fault of those poor girls, though, you're right; it ain't like they have a say in how everything works.'

'How are you doing that?' You whisper.

'Practice,' she shrugs. Suddenly it clicks into place.

'You're a legili-'

'Exactly right, honey,' she interrupts. 'And you're like me, aren't you? You must be.' You nod. She looks you deep in the eyes for a moment, and you wonder if she can see what you're about to think of as well as what you're thinking of right now.

'I didn't catch your name,' she says quickly.

'Oh. It's YN,' you tell her.

'Sweet. Well, I gotta run, but...maybe I'll see you around, YN.' She draws out the syllables in your name as though pondering each one on its own, then she's walked away from you before you can say anything else.

Over the next few weeks, you try to forget about your encounter with the girl, but it proves more difficult than you expected. You seem to see her everywhere you go; you catch glimpses of her in the bakery near your apartment, in the subway, behind a car in the middle of the street...but every time you look twice, she seems to vanish. Maybe she's disapparating, or maybe you're just seeing things. When you spot her buying a necklace with a deep blue pendant in a jewellery store, you decide that you need an explanation.

'Excuse me, miss...' You trail off, realising you never got her name on your first meeting. She turns around slowly, her heels clicking as she steps towards you. She gives a wide smile. The store owner retreats into a back room.

'Oh, it's you! YN, was it?' Before you can reply with a 'yes', she asks:

'What's this thing you've gotta tell me, honey?'

'I keep seeing you,' you say quickly, before she can read what you're about to say. 'I wanted to know...well, why are you doing it? What's going on?'

'Ya just looked so worried when I met you is all,' she says, raising her eyebrows at you and tilting her head a little to the side. Her elegant ringlets of hair bounce slightly as her head moves. 'I thought I'd keep any eye on you, make sure you're doing okay.' You can't help but grin when she says this. You haven't been able to get her out of your head since your first encounter, and you had no idea that she'd even taken notice of you.

'Oh sweetie,' she says with a smile, 'd'ya really think folks are gonna forget a face like that?' You blush scarlet. You shouldn't, you know it, you shouldn't have such a peculiar reaction to a compliment from...from another woman.

'It's not strange at all,' she tells you. 'Why wouldn't you want a new friend to tell you how pretty you are? Anyways, I think I'll make sure I can find you again, YN.' With that, she murmurs a spell and sends a tiny card of paper towards you. It drifts gracefully into your shirt pocket. 'If you fancy coming over for dinner, feel free. Don't bring any fellas with you, though. The landlady will have a fit. See you.'

'Wait!' You say quickly. She spins around. 'I never got your name,' you tell her.

'Queenie,' she tells you. With a quick check around the store to make sure nobody's watching, Queenie takes her necklace and apparates without another word.

That afternoon, you pluck up the courage to visit the address Queenie had written on the card. You find yourself in a dimly lit apartment corridor, trying to make out the scrawling handwriting and the golden ink. The windows are dusty and dim, and beneath them a bare brick wall in a deep burgundy colour faces the outside world. You wander up stairs, counting the numbers on the doors. _9,10, 11, 12, 13...14_. This is it. You knock gently on the door.

Queenie pulls open the door to her apartment. She leans lazily against the doorway, playing with a lock of her hair. She is dressed in a thin light green gown with an elegant sheen to it.

'I'm glad you like it,' Queenie tells you with a smirk. 'I've had it for ages, but I just can't bring myself to throw it away. The colour is just so...fetching.' She pauses for a moment. 'Glad you think so too,' she says quietly as she ushers you in. The inside of her apartment has just the right amount of chaos; a tidy couch with carefully positioned pillows is opposite a cluttered bookshelf that spills to the brim with spellbooks and a mannequin with jewellery strewn beneath it, almost as though they're facing off against each other. A chandelier sprinkles light onto the plates and glasses that are scattered on a dining table.

'My sister's a sweetie, but she has a bit of a problem with making things neat all the time,' Queenie mutters. 'She should be back from work in a little while, actually.' She begins walking slowly around the room as though deep in thought. 'I think I should make her something for when she gets back.'

'That's so sweet of you,' you say, not realising you're saying this aloud. All Queenie does is give you a small smile.

'Can I offer you a drink?' She says after a moment, as if she's suddenly realised that she wasn't saying anything. 'We got firewhiskey, dragon barrel...oh, there's a fresh bottle of giggle water, if you want it.'

'I'll take the giggle water,' you say. 'I mean, if that's alright -'

'A lady after my own heart,' Queenie grins. She spins her wand around the bottle and it gently unscrews, tipping equal amounts of the clear liquid into two of the glasses that sit proudly on the table. Queenie lifts one of them up with delicate fingers.

'Cheers, Y/N,' she says in a low voice, only intended for you. You start to reply, but she's already taking a long sip of the giggle water. She sets her glass down on the table and laughs; her laugh is high and floaty and mellifluous. You follow her lead, lifting up your glass and taking a long drink from it. As soon as you laugh, so does she.

'What's so funny?' You ask her, confused.

'Nothing,' Queenie replies. 'I just...well, I didn't expect that laugh to come from you is all.' Brilliant; she finds it odd. You must have sounded like an idiot. 'Hey, hey,' she says, quickly walking over to you and lifting your face up gently so you're looking straight at her. 'Don't you worry, okay? I don't judge people, sweetie. Anyway, your laugh is lovely.' For a moment, the two of you are silent, just looking at each other.

A click sounds from the door. Queenie springs apart from you. A woman with short brown hair and a grey hat and suit jacket walks in purposefully. She glances down at the necklaces on the floor and lifts them up onto the mannequin with a flick of her wand.

'I still have no idea what's happening with Graves,' the woman mutters. 'He's been off with me all day - oh, hello.' She pauses as she catches sight of you. 'Who's this?'

'A new friend,' Queenie replies. 'Tina, this is YN. YN, this is my sister Tina.' Tina shakes your hand quickly before marching off into another room.

'Darn,' Queenie mutters. 'I was going to cook for her, wasn't I?'

'I think so,' you tell her. She nudges you playfully.

'You shouldn't distract me like that, ya know.' You feel as though you should be regretful, but you can't help but smile at the thought of Queenie being distracted by you.

You continue to come to visit Queenie that week, having delightful conversations with her and her sister. Tina seems a little closed off, but mellows slightly over the course of the week. Queenie is anything but closed off; by the time the moon has risen high in the blackened sky on Friday night, you feel as though there is nothing she could say that would surprise you. As she is in the middle of a story about the time her colleague tried and failed to slip her a love potion, however, she pauses and gasps.

'YN, we were supposed to get you home!' She cries.

'I'll be fine,' you reassure her. 'I can apparate back-'

'Are you sure? It's dark out there at this time, and cold. You never know what could be there...are you sure you don't want to stay here?'

'Queenie!' Tina hisses.

'What? We've gotta keep her safe. Show a fellow witch some courtesy.' After a moment's pause, Tina nods.

'You're right. Set her up in the guest room.' Queenie jumps to her feet at Tina's words and gestures for you to follow her. She leads you out of the room and through a large oak door.

'Here ya go,' she says as she invites you in. The room is lit by a series of lamps that scatter warm orange light across patchwork sheets and perfectly fluffed pillows. More of the mannequins that sat in the main room are stood proud against the papered wall. Most of mannequins are empty, but there's a flowing red dress that gently brushes the carpet fashioning one of them.

'I think it's awfully cosy,' Queenie says.

'I love it,' you tell her. You wander towards the dress, admiring it. 'Did you make this?'

'Every thread,' she says proudly, drifting around the room. 'I haven't sewn for a good while now, though, but I'm trying to come back to it. That was what I bought the little blue necklace for, actually. I thought it would go nicely with a thread I have.'

'I've no doubt it will-' you begin, but she cuts you off.

'Stand here, stand here,' she says, excitement in her eyes as she points next to the mannequin. She pulls the dress away from its position with a flick of her want and brings it to hover in front of you. She claps her hands together excitedly. 'Yes! I knew it! Sweetie, you look stunning in this.'

'Thank you,' you say nervously. She starts to walk around you, talking quickly and grinning.

'I need to make you something shaped like this, I swear. You can be my muse...my beautiful muse.' You're sure your face must be the colour of the dress as she says this. 'Is it alright, me making you something to wear? I mean-'

'Yes,' you say without hesitation. 'I'd love that.' Queenie tries to hold back a wide smile, but it shines through despite her efforts.

'Wonderful.' Suddenly, Queenie wraps her arms around you, pulling you into a warm and caring hug.

You miss Queenie and Tina as soon as they wave you off the next morning, but it doesn't compare to the elation you feel every time you come back to their apartment to work on the dress. You and Queenie are synchronised, working together to make it in a unison you never expected. She even teaches you some charms to help speed up the dressmaking; you don't think you're anywhere near as adept at them as she is, but every time you doubt this she seems to read it and assure you that you're doing alright.

'There!' She exclaims as she sprinkles some glitter around the hem of the dress.

'I love it,' you sigh. 'You're so talented.'

'Only as much as you,' she says softly. She lifts up her wand and pulls the dress off its mannequin. 'Come on then,' she tells you.

'I don't understand...'

'Ya need to try it on!' Queenie giggles. 'Now, how else will we know if I've done any good?'

'Sure,' you say after a moment. She passes the dress into your outstretched arms with a flick of her wand. You look around the room for somewhere to change.

'Don't worry,' Queenie says, 'I won't look. Promise.' You believe her, so, trying not to blush, you turn away from her and start pulling off your other clothes. She starts faintly humming a sweet sort of folk tune, the sound dancing around the room. You feel as though you're taking forever, that you're starting to annoy her.

'Stop worrying, sweetie,' she tells you. As you finish putting on Queenie's dress you turn around. Queenie is getting changed as well. She's turned away from you, her legs covered in the red dress she made, her back uncovered as she slips it on. You tell yourself frantically not to think about how beautiful she is.

'Let's see, then,' she says as she turns around, and you try to make yourself look innocent. She gasps. 'Wow,' she says in a breathy whisper.

'Does it look-'

'It looks gorgeous. You look gorgeous.' She starts pacing around the room. 'Our creation's alive! Let's get that necklace on you, give it a finishing touch.' She steps towards you, lifts up your hair at the back and places the necklace around it. Her hands are so soft as they brush against your neck.

'Stunning,' she says as she adjusts the necklace around your neck so that the pendant sits straight. She pauses then. She's standing so close to you that you could count the little flecks of brown in her green eyes.

'I'm so glad I got to know you, YN,' she tells you.

'So am I,' you say. Before you can say anything else, she closes her eyes and presses her lips to yours. You didn't ever think you'd be kissed by another woman. You know it's just not something that most girls do; but as Queenie cups your cheek gently as she kisses you, you wonder why none of them do this. It's wonderful. She's so gentle with you, so soft, so sweet.

'I'm sorry,' she says as she pulls away. 'To tell you the truth, I've wanted to do that since I met you. I've liked you since then.' She offers you a wide smile.

'So have I,' you whisper.

'I know.'

'And you're...well, I mean, you're interested in other-'

'Exactly right, honey,' she giggles before pressing her lips to yours again.


End file.
